I have a soft spot for Austin. Six years ago, I did Terrence McNally's "Love! Valour! Compassion!" here at Zach Scott Theatre Center.
It was a wonderful production of a great play and I had the marvelous role of Buzz, who is the comic center of the piece. It was a blast, and during the two months I was here I got to know and love Austin. An oasis of liberalism in the heart of Texas, Austin is it's own special world. It's a college town, home to University of Texas Austin (where we are performing this week at gigantic Bass Concert Hall), and a hub of live music, art, culture and creativity of all stripes. The city's slogan is "Keep Austin Weird," and in a way it's fitting. I love the diversity here, the funky neighborhoods, the open minded attitudes and the great music and food. I have had the chance to revisit some of my favorite haunts, especially the fabulous restaurants. 
Chuy's (the original location on Barton Springs) is where you go for outrageously good Tex-Mex and kitschy homage to Elvis Presley. I have yet to have a tortilla soup as splendid as theirs. And for the best burger in Austin, it's Hut's, in the same location since 1939 and full of old diner memorabilia. I had a Richie Valens burger, overflowing with grated cheese, tomatoes, jalapenos, and guacamole. So much for the diet. The shopping is great here, as is the nightlife, and the "Spamalot" tour had it's own special Austin celebration when we marked our three year anniversary this week.
We had a special brush up rehearsal this Thursday to polish up the music and choreography of the show. It was a nice opportunity for us all to get into a rehearsal hall together and reconnect with the work we do without the pressures of the audience out front. And a chance to just enjoy working together and refining what we do. Our stage manager Ken started the rehearsal by telling us that our Austin reviews were stellar and remarking that in all the time he has been on this tour he has only read one mixed review of our production. And he praised all of us for continuing to present a fine, committed, high energy show each and every time we get out there. This affirmation added to the sense of camaraderie and enjoyment we enjoyed in rehearsal this week, as well as to the celebration of our anniversary at Moonshine bar and restaurant, where we had great food and drink and stomped our feet to the fabulous sounds of Bluegrass band Milkdrive.
A great time was had by all. Here's Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Connell enjoying some party grub and camping it up for the camera. Sometimes in the thick of the whole relentless touring thing, it is easy to forget how lucky we all are to work within such a great group of people.
The annual South By Southwest Festival begins this weekend, with a film festival and an extensive lineup of live music events. You can feel the energy in the streets. Austin is definitely a place where things are happening, where people go out every night of the week, and where creative people are doing their own thing. There is art everywhere, from the tattoo parlors to the art and craft galleries, to the Austin Museum of Art. I ventured in this cold, rainy Friday and enjoyed a really beautiful exhibit of photography by Clifford Ross.
Ross is a landscape photographer whose work spans from the realistic to the abstract. My favorites of his images were his series of surging waves captured by Ross during hurricanes along the Long Island coast. The majesty of these foaming towers of water, frozen in vivid tones of white and gray, is really captivating. I was glad to have a chance to catch a little bit of art in Austin this week. The Austin crowds have been big, boisterous and appreciative and it has been a blast to perform here! Bass Concert Hall is enormous and it has been gratifying indeed to see those packed houses. My dresser this week is Trinka.
Trinka tells me her name is a Slavic derivative of Katherine, and Trinka is as unusual as her name. With a bright, eccentric personality, she goes about her job with a smile, answering in the affirmative with her chirpy "Yup-per!". She fell into wardrobe work when she was the driver for singers in the local opera company. One night she dropped her charges off at the theatre and was asked to fill in last minute as a dresser when the crew was shorthanded. She has not left the wardrobe world since. She's been great fun to work with. I wish we had more time in Austin for me to retrace all my favorite places here and discover new ones. But I know I will be back here. It's a great town. We are off to Atlanta next week--see you there!
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